


Descent

by palmedfire



Category: Black Jewels - Anne Bishop
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 17:53:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9000688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/palmedfire/pseuds/palmedfire
Summary: It's time for Karla to make her Offering to the Darkness.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [calenlily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/calenlily/gifts).



Karla stood at the door to the Sanctuary, the sun sinking lower in the horizon behind her, with her Green pendant clutched in her fist. Not for the first time she wondered if she shouldn't have made her Offering at Ebon Askavi, instead of returning home to Glacia. But if she was going to be named Queen of the Territory, it didn't seem right to make her Offering to the Darkness elsewhere. 

"It will be all right," Morton said, giving her shoulder a squeeze. He couldn't come in with her of course - the Offering had to be made alone - but she still appreciated his presence. It hadn't been a short trip to this small Sanctuary, high in the Glacian mountains, and thus far from her uncle's corrupting influence, and she'd appreciated having someone to talk with on the journey. Especially someone like Morton, who didn't get offended at a little snark. Or a lot of snark. All right, a whole lot of snark. She'd been nervous the whole journey, and probably taken it out on him more than was strictly fair. But so much was riding on tonight. She'd woven numerous webs over the past few days, and they all said the same thing. If she came away from her Offering with the Gray, she could save Glacia. And now that Janelle wore Ebony, together they could save all of Kaeleer. But only if Karla stood as Queen of Glacia. It all rode on tonight. 

"Come on," Morton said, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm getting cold."

"So?" Karla snapped, and instantly regretted it. It was starting to get cold, and a wind had picked up, wriggling its icy fingers into the seams and cracks of their coats and hats. Morton didn't need to be standing out here freezing just because she was getting a case of nerves, and she knew he wouldn't take the Coach back to the inn until she was safely inside the Sanctuary. Hell, the Priestess would probably have to chase him out, even then. "Let's go," she said, trying to put an apology in her tone. She gave her cousin a sardonic half smile and walked the rest of the way to the Sanctuary, Morton exactly a step behind on her left. He was going to make a great First Escort for her Court.

Unlike some of the Sanctuaries in and around the capital, this one was rather simple, with a plain, dark wood front door. Karla knocked twice, perhaps a bit louder than was strictly necessary. She was about to knock a third time when the door swung open, revealing a middle-aged woman in Priestess robes. "I need to make my Offering," Karla blurted, before the woman could say anything. She could almost feel Morton's disapproving look at her bluntness, but she didn't care. The sun was starting to set, and if she didn't make her Offering now, she didn't think she was going to be able to. Besides, she'd had years of learning to ignore Morton's disapproval.

The Priestess's eyes widened slightly, but she ushered Karla and Morton inside and shut the door behind them. The front room of the Sanctuary was deliciously warm after the cold of outside, with both warming spells in the walls and a roaring fire in the hearth. There were several comfortable looking chairs, and a table that looked like it also served as the Priestess's desk. "Please, make yourself comfortable," the woman said, indicating the chairs. 

Karla walked over to the indicated chairs and perched on the edge of one, only so that Morton would sit as well. "I really need to get this done," she said, trying to keep the tension out of her voice. She tried not to fidget, but there was a loose thread on one of the arms of the chair, and she couldn't quite stop herself from picking at it. She heard Morton sigh, but she resisted the urge to look at him. Instead she glared at the Priestess, daring the woman to question her further. Fortunately the woman seemed sensible enough not to challenge her, and instead just went over to the bookcase along the back wall and pulled down a thick, leather bound volume. 

"I do not get many visitors at so remote a shrine," the Priestess said, as she flipped through the book. Finally she found the spot she was looking for and laid it open on the table. "But of course, I will be honored to help guide you to your Offering. If you would just record your name, caste and Birthright here, I will get everything ready." Without waiting for a reply, she turned and passed through the doorway that led further into the shrine. 

Karla turned to look at Morton, only to find him smiling. "What's so funny?" she snapped. 

"Your face," he said with the obnoxious smugness of someone who knew she wasn't going to kill him. No matter how tempted she might be at the moment. "You're not used to people being as short with you as you are with them."

There didn't seem to be any good reply, so she just growled at him as she pushed herself out of the chair and stalked across the room to the open book. It was filled with list of names and castes and jewels. She grabbed a pen from a cup on the table and scrawled her own name at the bottom of the list, along with the fact that she wore a Green birthright and was a Queen. She hesitated for a moment, almost wanting to just leave it at that. Not that she was in any way ashamed that she was triple caste, but it was a fact that was guaranteed to make her memorable to this Priestess, and what if Uncle Hobart came sniffing around? Then again, a quick scan of the other names on the page showed no other Queens, so she was probably memorable enough as it was. She had to write smaller than she preferred to fit 'Healer' and 'Black Widow' on the same line, but she managed it, and had just sat back down when the Priestess returned. 

"The altar is prepared," the woman said, with a slight incline of her head. "If you would follow me?"

She couldn't repress a resigned sigh. With how nervous she'd been all day, the idea of just enjoying a few minutes sitting in front of a fire was tempting. But she knew the sun was setting, and Morton was looking at her expectantly, so she shoved herself up out of the chair and followed the Priestess through the doorway and deeper into the shrine. 

The Dark Altar wasn't a Gate like some were, but it still stood proudly in the center of a room paneled in dark wood. The floor was stone as was traditional, though imbued with warming spells to keep out the Glacian winter chill. Karla wondered if they were inherent to the shrine or if the Priestess was sustaining them. On the altar stood a large thick black candle which served as the only light in the room. Next to it stood a crystal goblet filled with a dark liquid. In front of the altar was a small woven rug, thankfully not a pelt of any sort, Kindred or otherwise. She wasn't sure she'd have been able to handle that. The Priestess crossed to the altar and picked up the goblet, cradling it in her hands. "Come and kneel before the Darkness" Something about the room's acoustics made the woman's voice echo slightly. Karla shivered and stepped forward to kneel on the rug. Once she had done so, the Priestess spoke again. "From sunset to sunrise you shall speak no words, and contact no one on any psychic threads. You shall devote your mind and your Craft to the Darkness. You shall offer it all you have, and in return, it shall judge the depth of your full power." She held the goblet out to Karla. "Drink this, close your eyes, and open yourself to the Darkness." 

Karla accepted the goblet and peered into it for a long moment, checking it for poisons. She didn't think this woman would try to kill her, but she couldn't be too careful. Not now, when everything hung in the balance. Detecting nothing she took a careful sip. The liquid slid down her throat, thick and warmer than she'd expected. It bore the sharp bite of alcohol, but not enough that even the lightest of Jewels wouldn't burn through it in moments. There was a sweetness, and as she drank the rest of it down, it reminded her of the faint memories she had of her mother making elderflower syrup in the early spring. As she drained the last drop, she let the Priestess take the goblet from her as she closed her eyes and sunk to the depths of her Green.

"May the Darkness be merciful," she heard the Priestess say from behind her. Reflex made her tense, but no attack came. She heard the woman move further away, and the the door shut gently. Even with her eyes closed she could sense the flickering flame of the candle on the altar, but otherwise she was surrounded by darkness. The power of her Green filled her, and there was a sense of anticipation. A sense there was something she still had to do. She just didn't know what. Wasn't the Priestess supposed to explain this? Karla shifted on the rug, growling slightly under her breath. This was frustrating. All right, so she was supposed to 'offer herself to the Darkness'. But what in Hell did that actually mean?

Offer herself to the Darkness. She turned those words over in her mind as she tried to ignore the cramp that was threatening to start in her legs. Not the most helpful advice. She wondered if Draca had been more forthcoming when Janelle had made her Offering. Despite the prohibition against speaking, Karla couldn't stifle a harsh snort of a laugh at that thought. Like Janelle had to be instructed on anything regarding the Darkness. She was Witch. She _was_ the Darkness. 

Karla, however, was not. She might be one of only three tripled-caste witches in memory, but that didn't mean she instinctively knew what to do now. Or did she? The Queen's Gift to the land was essentially instinctive. She'd been using it to help keep her mother's garden protected and healthy despite the neglect and mismanagement of Uncle Hobart's mistresses and cronies. And that had been before she'd even had more than basic training in Craft. Maybe it was like that. She took a deep breath and tried to focus on pushing her Green power out of herself and in to... what? That was the stumbling block. With the Queen's Gift she was putting the power into the land. Here there was nowhere for it to go.

"The Abyss is in each of us" she suddenly remember Janelle saying. "We just all stand at different depths." It had been one of those random comments she was so fond of, made on an otherwise quiet walk around the Keep's gardens. Karla wasn't sure why she was remembering it now, but it made her reconsider. She'd already dove down to the level of her Green and pulled that power back into herself, but maybe that had been the mistake. The Offering to the Darkness was supposed to give access to darker power. Maybe she had to dive deeper. Push beyond the Green. The thought made her shiver. That was the one unbreakable rule with Craft. You did not try to reach past the limits of your Jewel. That was the sure way to break your Jewels and be left with nothing. Normally she was all about breaking rules, but that was one she'd never tested herself against. Without her Jewels there would be no way she could rule Glacia. But without a Jewel darker than she wore now, there was no way she could stand against Uncle Hobart and his Council. Was it worth the risk?

It had to be.

With another deep breath, she released her hold on her Green power. As always she felt slightly empty as the power returned to its dormant state. She centered herself, attention turning inwards and she dove down after it. But this time when she reached the level of her Green she didn't pull back up. She kept diving, power continuing to fill her, even though it felt like at any moment she would shatter. No. She couldn't shatter. She needed the power, all the power she could get, not for herself but for Glacia. And if she held Glacia, she could help Janelle save all of Kaeleer. That was worth any price. 

She dove deeper into the Green than she ever had before, and then past that into the Sapphire. But that wasn't enough. She felt something pulling at her, pulling her deeper into the Abyss. In an instant that she could break free if she wanted to, but if she did, that would forever be the limit of her power. She gave a toothy, feral smile and thought _kiss, kiss_ to herself as she let it pull her deeper. 

The Red was wilder than even the Sapphire had been, crashing waves of power that offered promise and threat in equal measure. Red was Uncle Saeten's Birthright. Lucivar's as well. It was a dark, powerful Jewel. But it wasn't her Jewel. She let the force pull her deeper.

The Gray. Savage and feral. Wild and deadly. She loved it. Even as the power battered at her mind and self, she felt herself expanding to take it in, take it all in and make all that unrestrained power a part of herself. She drank it in, not wanting to give up a drop of the potential power. It was exhilarating, and even as the power began to batter at the walls of her Self, she was loath to pull away. But the choices were to pull back or shatter, and she could save no one if she shattered herself that completely. She had to break free from the pull and ascend - to return to her body so she could actually make use of all this glorious new power. 

She opened her eyes to the dubious light of the single candle on the altar, it had burned low, and now the flame guttered and threw shifting shadows around the small room. Her legs were cramped, and she felt chilled, despite the warming spells on the room. But on the altar, in front of the failing candle sat an uncut Jewel that hadn't been there before. An uncut Gray. Her uncut Gray. She reached out, almost without conscious thought, and closed her hand around it. It pulsed with power, and hope, and promise. She had done it. She was now a vessel for the Gray and could take back Glacia. 

A wicked smile bloomed on her face as she clutched her new Jewel to her chest. "Kiss, kiss Uncle Hobart," she whispered fiercely. He wouldn't hurt her or her people ever again.


End file.
